Illustration By Nuestro Stories
Runners, take note! There’s a brand new way of celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) this year. And, yes, it involves your running shoes.
All runners who wish to celebrate this year’s HHM festivities (without having to don formal attire of any sort) are invited to join the Hispanic Heritage Month Virtual Run, hosted by Latinos Run organization. The “virtual 5K is for everyone who believes in the power of the Latino Community!” the group boasts on its homepage, along with a registration link.
According to Latinos Run, the virtual run “is a run that can be run or walked from any location you desire. Run, jog, or walk on the road, trail, treadmill, gym or even a track (or even at another race). You run your own race, at your own pace, and time it yourself. And your medal will be shipped directly to you.”
Looking for something more cozy, in person, and year round? No problema. Latinos Run has many events to choose from no matter where runners live. Plus, today, there are dozens of regional running clubs catering to Hispanics and Latinos. scattered throughout the United States.
Even though a recent study found that just 14.6 percent of all U.S. runners are Hispanic or Latino, thanks to the growing popularity of running clubs during the pandemic, that number is changing, in a positive way.
A Rise in Latinx Running Clubs
A running club, by definition, is a social and athletic organization formed by and for individuals who share a common interest in running as a form of exercise, recreation, or sport.
These clubs bring together people of various ages and skill levels who enjoy running, whether it's for fun, fitness, competition, or a combination of these reasons.
The Hispanic/Latino/Latinx running clubs that have popped up around the country – and even the world over the last couple of decades – typically organize group runs, training sessions, and other running-related activities related to their communities, heritage, and culture.
“There’s now a new wave of social-run clubs founded by Latinxs, who are leading the way and finding different ways to stay healthy while building community,” the Los Angeles Times reported in its recent article These L.A. running clubs have Latinx founders. “Throughout Southeast and East Los Angeles, running clubs offer a space to make friends and get active.”
East Side Traffic, Border X Bandits, and Montebello Run Club are just a few of the running clubs serving the LA community, according to the outlet's piece.
In New York City, New York Road Runners (NYRR), the largest running group in the city for over 60 years, lists over a dozen running clubs serving the Hispanic/Latinx community.
On their site, NYRR encourages runners to “learn more about these clubs … and follow them to check out their plans to celebrate Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month.” Their list includes: Club Atlético Hispano Correcaminosm Dominican Runners, Latinos/Latinas Run, OCR Latino,
Team WEPA, Las Weponas and TriLatino Triathlon Club.
Not Just for "White" Men Anymore
Latinos Run founder and CEO, Afro-Latina Marathon Runner Maria Solis Belizaire, of Mexican and Puerto Rican decent, says that her international group now serves more than 25,000 runners – adults and kids.
In 2016, unlike today, she says she was unable to find a group that catered specifically to Latinos, adding that she decided to take action and form the running group Latinos Run in honor of her late mother Miriam Calderon Solis. She also founded a sister group Latinas Run, which focuses on Latinas.
“We needed to change this perception of our own community — that we don’t work out and that we don’t run — because it’s simply not true,” Belizaire wrote in an op-ed for Refinery29’s Somos outlet. “... the image of running isn’t a 30-something-year-old white man — it should be as diverse as our country is.”
And, as spectators and runners alike will attest, Latino running groups like Belizaire’s go beyond health perks.
With runners donning their flags of origins on race day, it’s clear there’s a big sense of pride along with the many benefits running brings to the body. And that’s a good thing.
